Steve Morgan, the Wolverhampton Wanderers chairman, came out fighting on Friday and insisted he had "nothing to be embarrassed about" after the controversial appointment of Terry Connor, the sacked manager Mick McCarthy's former assistant.

It is understood that the job was offered to Steve Bruce early on Thursday evening and that his lawyers were working on the contract only for Morgan to have a sudden change of heart. The chairman told Bruce that night that the deal was off and that he had decided to put his faith in Connor for the rest of the season instead.

Bruce was happy to take on the role and may be reconsidered in the summer, although Connor has been told the job will be his if he impresses during his three-month audition.

The search for a manager had turned into a farce even before the late U-turn over Bruce, after a number of potential candidates were approached only to turn down the job. McCarthy was dismissed 11 days ago after the 5-1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion and attempts to lure Alan Curbishley, Walter Smith, Brian McDermott and Gus Poyet were rebuffed in a process that became a step-by-step guide on how not to appoint a manager.

Connor was promoted on Friday, bringing a sorry saga to a close and hardly covering Morgan and the chief executive, Jez Moxey, in glory.

Connor, 49, has been associated for more than 13 years with Wolves but has never been a manager and is charged with the daunting remit of saving the club from dropping into the Championship. He will receive a bonus if he succeeds, believed to be around £100,000, and begins his 13-game assignment at Newcastle United United on Saturday afternoon.

But Morgan was clearly perturbed by the notion of Wolves becoming a laughing stock and defended the appointment of Connor in a combative press conference. "I have to take issue with the suggestion that we now have an image problem. We've done nothing wrong and have nothing to be embarrassed about," he said.

"Has it been done on the cheap? I feel insulted by the question. I think that's an insult to me and this football club and Terry. After the West Brom game we reached the conclusion that if we didn't make the change then we were probably going to go down. We have gone through a process of finding the best way to take the club forward and that has culminated with the appointment of Terry which we're delighted with.

"It's [the coverage] been very frustrating and we've had an open mind all the way through with the majority of the candidates we've seen. At another time and place a number of them would be considered again. But, at the moment, it's Terry from now until the end of the season."

Connor's appointment is a popular one with the squad, even if he admits he will have to earn respect in his new role.

He said: "I am still called TC and being called 'gaffer' is something I have to earn. The lads and myself feel we have unfinished business from now until the end of the season. We've done two seasons where we've stayed in the Premier League and we want to make it three, and the players are very much of that thinking as well."